Sunday, February 12, 2012

Let's be clear about what the following sentence means:"The resistance will continue until all Palestinian land, including Al-Quds(Jerusalem), has been liberated and all the refugees have returned," hesaid. "all Palestinian land" - including Israel within the "Green Line" = destroying Israel in its entirety.Is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon listening? - "The UN chief reiteratedhis position that the Palestinian Fatah-Hamas reconciliation accord signedin Qatar, earlier this week does not conflict with President Abbas' negotiations with Israel."

Hamas "will never recognise Israel," Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniya saidSaturday in a speech in Iran that is likely to complicate Palestinianefforts to form a unity government in the teeth of opposition from theJewish state. "They want us to recognise the Israeli occupation and cease resistance but, as the representative of the Palestinan people and in the name of all the world's freedom seekers, I am announcing from Azadi Square in Tehran that we will never recognise Israel," Haniya said."The resistance will continue until all Palestinian land, including Al-Quds(Jerusalem), has been liberated and all the refugees have returned," hesaid. Haniya's reiteration of Hamas's long-held stance was made on the occasion of Iran's commemoration of its 1979 Islamic revolution. The Gaza leader spoke to an estimated crowd of 30,000 from a stage alongside Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad."The Iranian people are a partner in this victory," Haniya said. "Godwilling, we will met you along with other Palestinians in a free Palestine,in its capital Al-Quds," he said.

Israel rejects efforts by Hamas to link up with Fatah, the secular factionof Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas that runs the West Bank, to form aunity government. It views Hamas as a terrorist organisation and Iran as itssponsor and weapon supplier.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told UN envoys on Thursday that aHamas-Fatah accord signed this week to partner in the new government "doesnot contribute to the advancement of peace negotiations or the well-being ofthe Palestinian people."

The so-called Quartet of diplomatic players in the Middle East peaceprocess — the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the UnitedStates — has long demanded that any Palestinian government including Hamasmust meet certain conditions to join negotiations. Those are the renunciation of violence and the recognition of Israel and of past agreements with the Jewish state.Direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have beenfrozen since September 2010. The Palestinians have demanded that Israel haltsettlement construction in the occupied West Bank. Israel rejects anyconditions for talks to settle the Middle East conflict.